Taixu received his early training in Buddhism in the T’ien-tung Tiandong Monastery near NingpoNingbo. In 1912 he helped organize the Association for the Advancement of Buddhism with headquarters in NankingNanjing. During 1918 he made an extended tour of Formosa ( Taiwan ) and Japan, and in 1921 he began the publication of the influential journal Hai-ch’ao-yinHaichaoyin(“The Voice of the Sea Tide”). T’ai Hsü Taixu was heavily influenced by Sun Yat-sen and by the revolution of 1911. He sought to reform the education of monks and promoted social welfare activities. He made numerous attempts to form national and international Buddhist organizations and, to that end, traveled to Japan again in 1925, to Europe and the United States in 1928–29, and to South and Southeast Asia in 1939 and 1941.

T’ai Hsü Taixu was among the foremost in modern times to expound the metaphysical and soteriological aspects of Buddhism, especially the Ch’an and Wei-shih Chan (Zen) and Weishi (“Consciousness Only”; see Yogachara) schools. He attempted to harmonize Buddhism with modern scientific and philosophical thought, and he tried to synthesize the teachings of the rival schools of Hua-yen and T’ien-t’ai Huayan (Kegon) and Tiantai to bring them into harmony with Wei-shih Weishi philosophy.